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Monday, November 07, 2011

Effective November 5, 2011, the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
program will have a new eligibility stream for international students
pursuing doctoral (PhD) studies at Canadian institutions. Instructions
are provided on how to proceed with applications received both before
and after this date.

Issue

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides guidance on FSW applications and the fourth set of Ministerial Instructions (MI-4) which come into force on November 5, 2011.

Background

On June 18, 2008, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
was amended to give the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
authority to issue instructions that would ensure the processing of
applications and requests be conducted in a manner that, in the opinion
of the Minister, will best support the attainment of immigration goals
set by the Government of Canada.
The MI-4 comes into force on November 5, 2011 and includes changes to the following programs:

Processing Instructions

Effective November 5, 2011, the FSW program will have a new eligibility stream for international students pursuing doctoral (PhD) studies at Canadian institutions.
In order to be eligible to apply under this stream, the FSW applications [Note 1] must be received by the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney, Nova Scotia on or after November 5, 2011, and must meet either of the following two sets of criteria in order to be placed into processing:

Applications from international students who are
currently enrolled in a doctoral (PhD) program, delivered by a
provincially or territorially recognized private or public
post-secondary educational institution located in Canada, and who have completed at least two years towards the completion of their PhD and who are in good academic standing and who
are not recipients of a Government of Canada award requiring them to
return to their home country to apply their knowledge and skills. [Note 2]OR

Applications from foreign nationals who have completed a
doctoral (PhD) program from a provincially or territorially recognized
private or public post-secondary educational institution located in
Canada no more than 12 months prior to the date their application is
received by the CIO in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Applicants must
not have received a Government of Canada award that required them to
return to their home country to apply their knowledge and skills; or if
they were a recipient of such an award, that they have satisfied the
terms of the award. [Note 3]

Applicants who are eligible for processing are still assessed under the other requirements of the FSW Program. Applicants must still meet minimal requirements and obtain the minimum pass mark in order to continue in processing.

Limit on the number of applications to be processed per year

A maximum of 1,000 new FSW applications
from international students pursuing PhD studies or recently who
obtained a PhD at a Canadian institution will be considered for
processing each year. This cap will be calculated over and above any
other FSW caps on application intake identified in previous Instructions.
In calculating the cap, applications will be considered
in order of the date they are received. Applications received on the
same date will be considered for processing having regard to routine
office procedures.
For the unique purpose of calculating the cap, this cap
year will begin on November 5, 2011 and end on October 31, 2012.
Subsequent cap years will begin on November 1st and end on October 31st, unless otherwise indicated in a future Ministerial Instruction. FSW applications received at the CIO before November 5, 2011
MI-4 does not apply to complete applications received prior to November 5, 2011. All FSW applications received by the CIO prior to this date shall continue to be considered for processing having regard to the requirements in effect at that time.FSW applications received at the CIO on or after November 5, 2011
The MI-4 applies to applications received at the CIO on or after November 5, 2011. The CIO
will assess complete applications received on or after this date
against the MIs to determine whether applicants are eligible for
processing. The CIO will make a final eligibility
determination and those determined to be eligible will be placed into
processing. Applications that receive a negative eligibility
determination will not be processed and will receive a full refund of
the processing fee. The application and documentation submitted will not
be returned. Submitting the application
All FSW applications, including those under the PhD stream, will continue to be sent to the CIO.
Applicants are required to submit their complete application, together
with all supporting documents, to the CIO as listed on the CIO document checklist.
The CIO will review applications for
completeness and if the application is incomplete, the entire
application package will be returned to the applicant.Final eligibility determination at the CIO
The CIO will assess the applicant’s
submission based on the documentation submitted and make a final
determination of eligibility. To be eligible for processing, the
applicant must meet all the criteria described in the MIs. If the
applicant’s submission is determined to be ineligible for processing,
the applicant will be informed and will receive a refund. The
application and documentation submitted will not be returned. If the CIO
makes a positive eligibility determination, the application will be
placed into processing and the applicant will no longer be eligible for a
refund.Humanitarian and Compassionate requests
Requests made on the basis of Humanitarian and
Compassionate grounds made from outside Canada that accompany any
permanent resident application affected by MIs but not identified for
processing under the Instructions will not be processed.
Updates to the OP 6 manual are forthcoming.
For further information outlined in this OB, please
contact your supervisor or your Regional Program Advisor (RPA). RPAs may
in turn contact Operational Management and Coordination Branch at OMC-GOC-Immigration@cic.gc.ca.

Footnotes

[1] In order to be considered, applications
must be completed according to the application kit requirements in place
at the time the application is received by the designated office. [back to note 1]

[2] Applicants will be required to include, in
their application package, a letter of attestation from the recognized
provincial or territorial post-secondary education institution where
they are pursuing their PhD. The letter shall contain the following
attestations:

that the applicant is currently enrolled in a PhD program and has completed at least two years towards its completion; and

that the applicant is deemed in good academic standing to the satisfaction of the institution.

The letter of attestation should be an official letter,
on university letterhead, signed by a recognized institutional authority
such as the registrar or dean of Graduate Studies that clearly
addresses the above-noted two components.
Applicants will also be required to declare that they are
not a recipient of a Government of Canada award requiring them to
return to their home country to apply their knowledge and skills, by
completing the appropriate section in schedule 3. [back to note 2]

[3] Applicants will be required to include, in
their application package, official transcripts supplied by the
recognized provincial or territorial post-secondary education
institution where they completed their PhD, showing the awarding of
a PhD.

Applicants will also be required to declare that they
were not a recipient of a Government of Canada award requiring them to
return to their home country to apply their knowledge and skills; or if
they were a recipient of such an award, that they have satisfied the
terms of the award, by completing the appropriate section in schedule 3.
[back to note 3]

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